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ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE INFILL HOUSING INITIATIVE PROGRAM; AMENDING SECTION 17-124 OF THE CODE OF MAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF EXTENSIONS AND TIME THAT MAY BE GRANTED TO DEVELOPERS UNDER THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY INFILL HOUSING INITIATIVE PROGRAM; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE

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WHEREAS, this Board created the Miami-Dade County Infill Housing Initiative Program pursuant to Ordinance No. 01-47, as amended and codified in Chapter 17, Article VII of the Code of Miami-Dade County (�Infill Housing Program�); and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Infill Housing Program is to increase the availability of affordable homes for very low-, low- and moderate-income persons, maintain a stock of affordable housing, redevelop urban neighborhoods by eliminating the blight of vacant lots and dilapidated or abandoned properties, to equitably distribute homeownership opportunities within, and in some cases outside of the Infill Target Areas, and generate payment of ad valorem taxes; and
WHEREAS, the Infill Housing Program encourages the redevelopment of vacant, dilapidated or abandoned property through the sale or conveyance of County property to qualified developers and the inclusion of privately owned vacant, dilapidated or abandoned properties located within and outside of the Infill Target Areas; and
WHEREAS, community development corporations and developers through the Infill Housing Program are required to develop affordable single-family homes to be sold to very low, low and moderate income eligible person or eligible households; and
WHEREAS, through the Infill Housing Program and section 125.379, Florida Statutes, this Board has authorized the conveyance of County-owned property to developers, who are required to complete the construction of each single family home within two years, unless such time is extended by this Board; and
WHEREAS, the Infill Housing Program requires that each County deed shall contain a reverter to be exercised by the County, at its sole option, in the event the property has not been reasonably developed within two years of conveyance; and
WHEREAS, while extensions may be necessary in limited circumstances due to unforeseen conditions, excessive or repeated extensions delay the delivery of much-needed affordable housing units to County residents; and
WHEREAS, repeated extensions may result in underutilization of publicly owned land and impede the County�s ability to reassign non-performing lots to capable developers; and
WHEREAS, establishing a clear limitation on the number of extensions promotes accountability, ensures program efficiency, and advances the County�s policy goal of expediting affordable housing production; and
WHEREAS, this Board finds it in the best interest of the County to limit the number of extensions that may be granted under the Infill Housing Program while preserving flexibility for extraordinary circumstances,






BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA:
Section 1. Section 17-124 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:1
Sec. 17-124. Transfer or sale of property.

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(c) Reverter Clause/Affordability Period. County deeds conveying title of any properties to a qualified community development corporation or qualified developer, under this Infill Housing Initiative Program, shall contain a reverter to be exercised by the County at its sole option in the event the property has not been reasonably developed within two years of conveyance. Such two-year period for development may be extended at the sole direction of the Board of County Commissioners upon written application by a qualified developer. Approval of such request for an extension shall be evidenced by the County Mayor or the County Mayor's designee recording an instrument granting such extension in the public records of Miami-Dade County. >>Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, no more than two extensions shall be granted by the Board to any developer for any individual property under the program. Each extension shall be for no more than one year. In determining whether to grant an extension, the Board shall consider, at a minimum: (i) the developer�s progress toward completion; (ii) whether delays were caused by factors beyond the developer�s control; (iii) the developer�s compliance with all program requirements; and (iv) the impact of the extension on the timely delivery of affordable housing units. In cases involving declared emergencies, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances directly affecting the progress of the construction of the dwelling unit and only upon the developer providing a detailed written justification that provides reasons the Board should consider granting an additional extension, the Board, at its sole option and discretion, may grant one additional extension beyond the maximum set forth in this subsection (c), upon a two-thirds vote of its membership. Upon the expiration of the maximum number of allowable extensions, the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee shall take appropriate action, which may include reversion of the property to the County for reassignment, subject to the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee completing all required due diligence review, including, but not limited to, title searches and environmental reviews, prior to exercising such reversionary interest. Alternatively, the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee, in their sole discretion, may receive on behalf of the County from a developer, after conducting all due diligence, including, but not limited to, title searches and environmental reviews, a deed which conveys any property that is conveyed under this article back to the County in the event a developer is unable or fails to comply with the deed restrictions set forth in the County deed. Upon the receipt of a deed from a developer, the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee shall record such deed in the Public Records of Miami-Dade County.<< Any eligible infill housing that is developed under this Infill Housing Initiative Program shall remain as affordable housing for at least 20 years.

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Section 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity.
Section 3. It is the intention of the Board of County Commissioners, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance, including any sunset provision, shall become and be made a part of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section," "article," or other appropriate word.
Section 4. This ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of enactment unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Board.

1 Words stricken through and/or [[double bracketed]] shall be deleted. Words underscored and/or >>double arrowed<< constitute the amendment proposed. Remaining provisions are now in effect and remain unchanged.